Prof Amann Publishes Op-ed in Miami Herald on Guantánamo Bay
Professor Diane Marie Amann published an Op-ed in Miami Herald December 12 based on her observation of pretrial hearings in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba in the case against five detainees charged in connection with the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Professor Amann traveled to the hearings as a representative of the National Institute of Military Justice, a Washington, D.C.-based nongovernmental organization founded by former military lawyers.
Professor Amann's Op-ed, "Let the accused have fair trials in court," is strongly critical of the proceedings. "The American way of justice requires that all players - the judge, the prosecution, and most certainly the accused - know the rules of the game before it starts," writes Amann. "This is not just a matter of convenience. It is the essence of due process. Sadly, a Monday hearing in the purpose-built courtroom here proved, once again, that the post-9/11 military commissions cannot fulfill this core guarantee of the Bill of Rights."
Professor Amann also commented on the hearings for stories in the Washington Post and Reuters.com news service on December 9.
Issues related to post-9/11 detention, interrogation, and prosecution are a focus of Professor Amann's scholarship, with articles published in Transnational Law and Contemporary Problems, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and Columbia Journal of Transnational Law.